What it means to believe in you
by Dreaming Rose
Summary: It was an ordinary mission. Escourting a Lord shouldn't be so difficult, but with Naruto things will always clash. Maybe today he'll realize that believing in him doesn't always mean agreeing with him. Naruto, Sakura.


Genre: Naruto  
Setting: Random village in Fillers, Konoha  
Characters: Mainly Naruto and Sakura, platonic or pairing it's your call.

This story is short, it's a one-shot, and was written solely to get something out of my mind as I browsed through the fillers and through the forums of random fandom sites. Why is it in the fillers, when many of us hate them so? Well, because it's so _easy._ You can do anything in the fillers, so long as you use your IMAGINATION -rainbows- Well, hope you enjoy. This is the first I'm submitting so it might not be full of awesome, but thank you for those who give it a try.

Disclaimer: As funny as it is, I have to do this anyways. I would think with the words Fan and Fiction that most people, lawyers, etc would realize I am a simple fan writing a piece of fiction for that which I fan over, and am clearly making no money or claims on these works. Naruto is that c within a circle that I can't find on my Alt codes right now to its respectful owners.

Enjoy, and if you can, write me something in the little review box. Something nice I would hope, but freedom of speech applies here too.

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"We gotta to save her, dattebayo!"

That was how it all started. Another mission, another person he could relate to. His heart was too big; it was unbefitting of a ninja. The things he saw growing up as a child made him sensitive to the suffering in others. Yet that was then, this was now, and life wasn't a game where you had to save as many princesses as possible. He was a hero, but they were ninja. Sometimes they seemed like two different things.

"I a-agree w-with Naruto-kun..." A voice called within the group of eight, and the blonde haired boy flashed his appreciative smile at her. Ironically it was the cousin of the girl, a polar opposite in comparison to the stuttering female, which she drew cynical thoughts with, and when Naruto's eyes were searching for hers she was looking over to blank eyes instead of blue.

"We really can't stray from the mission Naruto-kun," He started in his smooth voice, "to look for her would mean abandoning the lord of this village." Logic, reason, it was why Neji-san had been chosen as the leader of the party. Silently she approved as she inclined her head slightly so. That was right—their mission came first. They couldn't put their client in jeopardy simply because they had crossed paths with some mistreated girl around their age. True, Naruto and the supposed monster of the village had bonded undeniably, but they simply couldn't put everything on hold to search for her.

He wasn't listening, as expected. "So you expect me to let her be taken away like that as we stand around and guard some old fart? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Naruto!" She reprimanded sharply. It was the first thing she said since the discussion had started. He seemed to stop with his language but not with his passion. It was noted that he didn't look directly at her this time.

"I'm going to side with Naruto-kun on this too." Neither she, nor anyone else was surprised when the handsome green beast of Konoha spoke up and sided with his youthful friend. "Yumi-chan seems to be innocent, and I too would rather save her than stick around and do nothing to help."

"Me too." The other blue eyed, blonde haired ninja spoke. It was less expected, but not totally surprising that Yamanaka Ino would join the other side. This left herself, Neji, Shikamaru, and Tenten as the ones who disagreed.

Shikamaru sighed and stretched a little. That lazy bum, he couldn't even be bothered could he? "Ngh, this is troublesome. If it must be this way, you go after the girl while we guard the old man." It was the only reasonable thing to do, but somehow Naruto still managed to be unhappy with this.

"Fine, if that's how it's going to be." This response garnered one from Tenten, who sighed whimsically. She really wanted to join her in the sighing but thought better of it. They only exchanged slight glances. "We can't waste any more time, who knows what they're going to do with her." With that Naruto 

hopped towards a tree with only a soft whooshing sound and a blur following him. Lee and Ino nodded their heads and joined him as they jumped towards the branches perching overhead. It didn't take long for Hinata to follow, of course, but she seemed to make a small noise as she took one moment to look over to her cousin. It was like she was seeking his approval yet thought better on it, following Naruto instead of Neji's unsatisfied eyes. "Let's go."

With that, the four left.

Yet despite splitting up they managed to meet again at the end. Apparently this cursed Yumi had something to do with the invading nins. So as they fought against them one way or another Naruto's group-with Yumi trailing them-came by and together they beat the bad guys once again. The conclusive fight was full of drama and speeches from Naruto's part, and he managed to make the village turn their leaf over and see the once ill-liked girl in a new light. There was a small hug between the two (much to Hinata's dismay) and they came back. All in all, it was a job well done. What a happy ending to the four-day mission. Frankly everybody was pleased to be going home to report the success and get their pay-checks.

Though, within the midst of all the merry-making on the way home there was a slight unease lingering in the shadows. It wasn't addressed until later that night on the returning day, when she heard a knock on the door.

He was standing there all smiles as usual, and it wasn't the first time he'd come over post-mission with his broad, helpful grin and his intent to help her unpack. He made more of a mess out of things than anything else, and they both knew he was here just to try to win her over. However familiar the scene had played out there was still something there that made tonight's visit a little different, but regardless she let him in.

"Eh...?" Naruto looked curiously at a little translucent bag. That one sure was new, so being the curious person he was he opened it and took an item out to hold it in front of his eye line. "Sakura-chan carries so many herbs! I wonder what this one smell like—"

"Idiot! That herb can knock you right out if you sniff it! Leave them to me alright?" Ugh, the only reason why Naruto was anywhere near that batch of things was because she was still embarrassed the last time he tried to help her put away her clothes and ended up seeing some of the under garments. He was now strictly on weapon and accessory help.

He laughed nervously, putting the dangerous plant back within its container. "O-Okay, then I'll just let you handle the first aid stuff..." Naruto pulled away from the big bag of stuff and that made it easier for Sakura to manoeuvre around as she quickly started to assemble things to her liking. She was ultra picky with her medical related things, so she was more comfortable when she dealt with it herself. Truthfully there was little Naruto actually did on these visits other than help her the bit of unpacking though it didn't matter much. It was a chance for them to bond while they could, and while the nights often 

ended with him sporting a bruise of some sort for some random idiocy that got on her nerves they still always managed to part feeling a little happier than usual. It was needed more than ever now that Sasuke was gone. It helped with the morale, especially since they knew they'd have to part for a long time once Jiraiya returned to Konoha.

"Sakura-chan..."

She felt something like that coming, for she had felt eyes on her the entire time she moved around her room. The tone of his voice was foreign to her, but she pretended not to know any better. "What is it?" She asked indifferently while she tip-toed to place something at the top of her closet. She didn't have to be facing him to know that he was already blushing.

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking about the mission." He said it devoid of anything that could hint his feeling about the mission, but Sakura knew. It was only a matter of time before it was brought up, but it still surprised her in a way. Usually Naruto would drop the things that bugged him, especially if it was in regards to her. It wasn't often that Naruto had any problem with her attitude even when she was beating him left and right. So it was easy to tell when she had actually strung a chord somewhere within that large heart of his.

"Oh?" Sakura continued to play dumb as she busied herself with putting things away in their proper drawers. In that time Naruto had taken to sitting down on her bed with his elbows at his knees and his back bent slumped as he watched her. It was easy to avoid that gaze, as equally unfamiliar to her as the way he said his name earlier, when she was busying herself. "Anything specific you're thinking of?"

Silence had met her question, but it was fine. The pink haired kunoichi continued on with what she was doing, but this excuse couldn't continue long because she was almost done. She gathered the last article of her clothing from the bag and she glanced over to see him looking down as he fiddled with her kunai in his hand. She turned back around, putting the last of her things away.

"You're thinking about how I didn't back you up today." The bed shifted behind her and immediately she knew she was right.

"It's nothing much, Sakura-chan, don't worry about it." He said, and when she looked behind she could see him smiling with reassurance because heaven forbid she'd feel bad for anything. Sometime the attitude he gave her could be really annoying. It was always hard for her to understand how he could admire her so much. Even an 'I'm not interested' sign wouldn't deter him, or at least it seemed like it. "It's just... I've been thinking..."

"That's rare." She said with a small raise of her eyebrows, feigning her surprise.

"Eh, Sakura-chan, don't be mean!" He whined a little. "But anyway, yeah... I've been thinking about how you and I are teammates and all... So..."

Sakura stood, one hand at her hip, and although her body language said otherwise she was willing to be patient. "Spit it out already." She said and stared pointedly at him. It was encouragement to speak further, not to mask it with his sudden bout of nervousness.

He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, eyes closed as he laughed a bit to ease the internal tension. "Well... Today I was thinking how, we're teammates and all, and uh..." He took a moment to what looked like a gulp, no doubt trying to rid the sudden dryness in his throat. Sakura could never understand how he could look demons like Gaara dead in the eye, could face ninjas with all the enthusiasm in the world, but falter when it came to talking to her. Symptoms of a childhood crush no doubt. Just like her crush for...

_A pain I know very well..._

"I was kinda hoping that today you might have... Been the one agreeing with me instead of, well..." He shifted around on her bed, and no doubt she'd be smoothing out wrinkles later tonight. She regarded him carefully, and then with a deep inhale she shook her head disapprovingly.

"Everyone in that mission was your teammate; Neji, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Hinata and I. And as teammates we're supposed to work towards your mission, not your personal goals."

"Yeah but—"

"And anyways," She waved her hand, dismissing his interruption, "you got half the team to back you up. What did it matter if I had agreed or not? I just personally felt that Neji had better judgement at the time."

"It does matter..." He spoke quietly, in a tone slightly foreign from his usual boyish voice. "It's not really about the mission but I just felt like Sakura-chan didn't want to look at me." His toes curled, and she watched with confusion. Yeah, she did keep eye contact away, because he was being too silly to acknowledge at that point. Nothing like how he was sounding. He really was reading too deeply into this...

"Many people believe in me, but... I really wish that _you_ would believe in me too."

An awkward silence fell. Sakura stopped with her tirade and Naruto looked down with a blush of embarrassment over his whisker-marked cheeks. The way he said that had implied much, and frankly she couldn't help the rise of heat within her cheeks. So, that was how he felt. How did they go from a simple disagreement earlier to this?

"U-uh, I think we're done unpacking now, right?" Naruto said suddenly, and her green eyes turned back to him. He smiled, the awkwardness of the situation reflected well on his expression. "Sorry, I said some stupid things. I should probably go now..." Shyly, a word not common for the eccentric one, Naruto got 

off the bed and headed towards the door of her room. Sakura hadn't moved from her spot, and continued to silently think to herself. However, as soon as he stepped one foot outside the door she stopped him.

"Naruto?" She called, not turning around to see if he had heard her, but knew he did since he made a small noise of question. "Just because I disagree with the way you think sometimes, doesn't mean I don't believe in you. It's the opposite... I only disagree with you to keep you out of trouble."

"Sakura-chan?"

"I knew you'd get her safely, that Yumi girl." She continued, and looked over her shoulder to see his befuddled face. "Though if we all went after her, think of how differently the mission would have turned out." She knew she got her point across, with the way he looked down with some shame. "I'm sorry; I guess I'm not the hero type. I don't have that passion that you do to try and save the world." There wasn't an inch of sarcasm in her when she said that, and for the first time in awhile she peered deeply into blue eyes. "I'm the type that states the obvious from time to time, and follows orders. So, sorry I couldn't be Hinata-chan or Lee-kun today for you, but that's just not who I am."

It was odd to be peered back at with such curiosity. His lower lip pouted a bit as he regarded her with a thoughtful gaze. Then, without warning, that pout widened into a large grin. It left her feeling a little confused.

"Eh, Sakura-chan does play the hero, since she's like a hero's leading lady. Always making sure his head is screwed on very tight." He flashed a wide smirk and she blushed in pure mortification. What was he saying? Such things were quite off topic, she said nothing about being a leading lady to him! Though it did oddly make her feel good about herself... "You're right; I was being stupid for nothing. And don't you go thinking you're not important okay?"

"O-okay...?" She answered, a bit lost, but he only laughed and gave her a 'thumbs up'.

"Goodbye Sakura-chan, have fun with that old granny tomorrow." He extended his fingers and waved, turning around to leave. The tension between them had dissipated, and as he left she had to smile despite herself. That Naruto, what was she going to do with him?


End file.
